Significant Difference In Comprehension Research Articles

An investigation of scaffolded reading on EFL hypertext comprehension

<span lang="EN-US">With the rapid growth of computer technology, some printed texts are designed as hypertexts to help EFL (English as a foreign language) learners search for and process multiple resources in a timely manner for autonomous learning. T</span><span lang="EN-US">he purpose of this study was to</span><span lang="EN-US"> design a hypertext system and examine if a 14-week teacher-guided print-based and hypertext reading intervention might benefit non-traditional EFL students’ reading comprehension. Non-traditional EFL students are older students with greater work experience. The primary investigation finding revealed no significant difference in comprehension between the teacher-guided print-based and hypertext intervention conditions, though a significant mean improvement was found after hypertext learning. EFL learners’ attitudes also supported that both teacher-guided print-based and hypertext interventions merit reading comprehension performance. In addition, there appears to be a significantly strong and positive relationship between the perceived usefulness of hypertext reading and attempt of future hypertext use, suggesting that the majority of non-traditional EFL learners made a positive willingness and prediction to use the hypertext system in their future reading, but that the degree of usefulness of hypertext reading was not reliably predicted by their hypertext comprehension scores. Based on the investigation results, limitations and future research are discussed and presented.</span>

La comprensión de conceptos a partir de la elaboración de re-presentaciones en un ambiente computacional

This paper presents a study to validate a learning system based on structured representation models. The research aims to assess apprentices’ understanding when they interact in hypermedia environment actions so that they get their own ontology from a text or after reading a hypermedia environment prepared by an expert, develop a representation and transfer it to a computer model. In this research participate students from first semester from the bachelor’s in Design and Electronics, who interact in two learning environments supported by information technologies: one aimed at studying a linear text on mechanical systems and subsequently representing and constructing a hypertext on text comprehension; and another, addressed to the study of a hypertext on the same topic and the subsequent representation to show their understanding. The method includes a quantitative study by analysis of variance using the F test to establish differences in the scores achieved by the groups in the comprehension test, combined with quantification of concepts, relationships between concepts and descriptors that define each concept to determine differences in the groups’ representations. The results show no significant differences in comprehension by either group. However, in terms of concept representation there were significant differences. The group that studied the hypertext prepared by an expert performed better, which indicates that their representations were syntactically richer as compared to those presented by the students who studied a linear text and developed their own hypertext.

Text-to-speech technology effects on reading rate and comprehension by adults with traumatic brain injury

Objective: This study’s purpose was to examine the comprehension, rate and perceptions and reading preferences of adults with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) when reading passages with and without computerized text-to-speech (TTS) support.Design and methods: Nine adults with severe TBI read 24 passages in two conditions: with and without TTS support. The researchers compared reading rate and comprehension accuracy across conditions. Also, participants rated their perceived performance and reading preferences via a follow-up questionnaire.Results: Comparison to normative data revealed that all nine participants read slower than average neurotypical readers. As a group, participants read significantly faster with TTS support than without such support, even though the TTS reading rate was roughly comparable to the oral rather than silent reading rate of neurotypical adults. No significant differences in comprehension resulted between the two conditions. Over half of the participants preferred the TTS condition over the no-TTS condition. In general, participants were inaccurate in judging their relative reading rates and comprehension accuracy across conditions.Conclusions: TTS may improve reading efficiency without compromising reading comprehension accuracy for adults with TBI. Given this finding, some survivors may find use of TTS technology contributes to increased participation in and efficiency when performing reading activities.

Evaluation of reading performance in clinical settings using the Tobii 1750 Eye Tracker

Aim: To evaluate the Tobii 1750 Eye Tracker system's usefulness in evaluating reading performance. Material: Twenty healthy subjects, aged 21–33 years, were measured with the Tobii 1750 Eye Tracker while reading two texts with equal readability rating. Reading speed was measured in words read per minute (wpm) from the onset of the first page to the conclusion of the last. Comprehension was enumerated as the ratio of correct answers (%). Eye movements were recorded as time-stamped coordinates of how the eyes moved over the screen. Results: There was a significant difference in reading speed and all eye movements except the saccade/regression ratio. Furthermore there was no significant difference in comprehension between the texts. Conclusion: The results show that texts used for studying reading performance most be chosen carefully as texts of the same linguistic difficulty, fonts, size and spacing can yield differences in reading performance, i.e. readability indexes are most likely not able to differentiate texts in a sophisticated enough manner. Furthermore, the results show that the Tobii system, despite its relative low resolution and sampling frequency, is suitable for evaluation of reading eye movements.

Comparing the impact of the OO-DFD and the Use Case methods for modeling functional requirements on comprehension and quality of models: a controlled experiment

Users' requirements of an information system are modeled in the analysis phase of the development process. The requirements can be modeled with various modeling methods. In this study, we compare two alternative methods for modeling the functional requirements: one is the UML Use Case (UC) model; the other is OO-DFD transaction (Object-Oriented DFD is a variant of DFD that includes data classes rather than "traditional" data stores). Each of these modeling methods consists of diagrams accompanied with narrative, semi-structured descriptions explaining their details. We conducted a controlled experiment that compared the comprehension of the two models (i.e., the diagrams and their descriptions) of a certain system and the quality of models created for a certain system with each of the two modeling methods. The main results of the experiment are that models created with the UC method are of better quality than models created with the OO-DFD transaction method because the former are simpler and less detailed; creating highly detailed models are error prone. Interestingly, in spite of the difference in the level of detail and structure, the experiment reveals no significant difference in comprehension of models of the two methods. The results call for improvement of the modeling methods in a way that considers the advantages of each of them, and thus we propose an improved method sketch that we call Enhanced Use Case, which will be evaluated in future work.

Effects of depression and social support on comprehension and recall of informed consent information among Parkinson disease patients and their caregivers.

Relatively little attention has focused on the impact of psychiatric conditions on human subjects' comprehension of consent information. The purpose of this randomized study was to determine whether depression affects comprehension and recall of informed consent information among persons with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers and to evaluate the effects of support on comprehension and recall during the consent process. Comprehension and recall of information were assessed using a modified version of the Modified Quality of Informed Consent Questionnaire, taken 1 week and 1 month later, and scored using a consensus-based algorithm. Participants also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Data analyses were conducted on 129 patients and caregivers (t-tests, Fisher's exact tests, and ANCOVAs). T-tests showed no significant differences in comprehension and recall between depressed and nondepressed participants at 1 week and 1 month. However, ANCOVA showed patients with a support person present had significantly higher comprehension and recall at 1 week but not at 1 month compared with controls. Caregivers present with a patient had lower comprehension/recall than those without a patient present (p = 0.02). Having a support person present during the informed consent process helps depressed PD patients better retain information in the short-term, but effects diminish over the long-term. Implications for interventions will be discussed.

An investigation of silent versus aloud reading comprehension of elementary students using Maze assessment procedures

AbstractMany reading comprehension measures require the student to read silently. When students read silently, important information (e.g., consistent reading errors) may not be identified. It may also be difficult to detect a student who is choosing not to read the passage. For this reason, investigating whether there is a significant difference in comprehension under silent and aloud reading conditions is important to determine under what conditions reading comprehension should be measured accurately. This study was designed to investigate possible differences between silent and aloud reading comprehension scores on Maze assessment probes. Pearson product correlations were used to investigate possible relationships between Maze comprehension scores (silent and aloud), WCPM, and the Broad Reading Cluster Score of the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ‐III ACH). Participants were 89 first‐ and second‐grade students from an elementary school located in the Southeastern United States. Each student was exposed to four assessment conditions, which included WCPM, three tests from the WJ‐III ACH, and Maze reading comprehension passages. Significant correlations were found for WCPM, aloud and silent Maze, and the WJ‐III ACH Broad Reading Cluster Score. No significant difference was found between aloud and silent reading comprehension, which suggests that reading comprehension can be measured accurately under either reading condition. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effects of the use of English in Polish product advertisements: Implications for English for business purposes

English has come to be widely used for the specific purpose of advertising to reach international target groups in various countries. However, few studies to date have investigated the use – and effects of – English in advertising in Eastern European countries. This study investigated the effect of English in advertisements from Polish glossy magazines on their audience, young educated Polish women. Respondents evaluated different versions of six product advertisements: either the original ads in English or the same ads translated into Polish. Perceptions of the product/brand image and attitudes towards the ad, as well as purchasing intentions and degrees of comprehension, were measured in a written questionnaire. Respondents presented with the English ads did not evaluate the product/brand image or the ad significantly differently than respondents who saw the Polish ads. Similarly, the use of English (versus Polish) did not bring about a significant difference in purchasing intentions, and led to only few statistically significant differences in comprehension. It can be concluded that claims in the literature about the positive effects of using English in product advertising were not borne out, and that the use of English led to few comprehension problems for the intended (non-native) target group. The findings are relevant for teaching English for Business Purposes to present and future business communication specialists and marketing practitioners, and, in general, can promote students’ awareness of how English is used for business in the world around them.

Development of pictographs depicting medication use instructions for low-literacy medical clinic ambulatory patients.

One approach to help elderly and low-literacy patients understand instructions for medication use is to use pictographs or pictorial diagrams. However, most of these pictographs are designed by medical professionals and may not be optimal for such patients. To compare low-literacy patients with medical staff in dimensions of preference and comprehension of pictographs intended to illustrate medication use instructions for medical clinic ambulatory patients. Following 2 pilot tests, the first with small samples (5 pharmacists and 5 patients) and the second with 100 patients with low literacy, a survey of pictograph understanding and preference was conducted between May and October 2008. The survey used a third version of 3 sets of pictographs in 4 medication instruction categories for 250 low-literacy patients and 250 members of the medical staff in a teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. The 4 medication instruction categories were (a) route of administration for external use; (b) time of day for medication administration; (c) medication administration before, after, or with meals; and (d) administration quantity. The measure of preference was which pictograph in each subset best described the instruction, and the measure of comprehension was the percentage of participants who understood the meaning of the pictograph. Differences between the 2 groups in pictograph choice and comprehension were calculated using Fisher's exact test. All patients were considered low literacy (never attended school or grade 6 education or less). The preference of pictographs was significantly different between patients and medical staff for each of the 12 sets of pictographs. Comprehension was significantly different between patients and medical staff for pictographs in the categories of medication administration time of day and medication administration associated with meals. For pictographs representing "at bedtime," "after meals," and "with meals," the percentage of patients who chose "do not understand" was significantly higher than the percentage of medical staff choosing this item. The 3 patient age groups were 60 years or younger (43.2%), aged 61 to 70 years (26.4%), and aged 71 years or older (30.4%). Preference was found to be significantly different among the 3 patient age groups in pictographs for medication administration time "before meals" (P = 0.002), "after meals" (P = 0.007), "with meals"(P = 0.037), and in the pictographs representing "half tablet" (P = 0.012) in the category of administration quantity. Comprehension was found to differ among the 3 patient age groups in pictographs representing "at bedtime" (P = 0.040), "before meal" (P = 0.022), "after meals" (P = 0.025), and "with meals" (P = 0.014) and for "one, two, or three tablets" (P = 0.041). Patients and medical staff had significant differences in preference for all categories of medical instruction pictographs and had significant differences in comprehension for the pictographs in the categories of medication administration time of day and medication administration associated with meals. Patients' preferences for and comprehension RESEARCH of the medical instruction pictographs were age-related. For successful development of a comprehensible prescription drug label, a diverse sample of patients should be consulted to ensure that the pictographs depicting medication use instructions are useful to all individuals, including those with low literacy.

Humour appreciation and comprehension in children with intellectual disability

Data on typically developing children show that humour development starts from an early age. Studies investigating humour in children with intellectual disability (ID) are few and have generally focused on identifying differences between this population and other groups of children. This study focuses on children with ID as a heterogeneous group and seeks to answer the following questions: (1) what kinds of humour do children with ID appreciate most in a video cartoon? (2) How does the mode of presentation of jokes influence humour comprehension? This study examines humour appreciation and comprehension in school-aged children (n = 9; chronological age: 7-11 years) with mild/moderate ID. Specific tools were developed to explore each aspect. Participants rated short scenes from a video cartoon to show their appreciation for different kinds of humour. A set of video-recorded jokes, with different modes of presentation, were used in the comprehension task. The greatest appreciation was expressed for physical and visual humour. Non-specific scenes (i.e. scenes with no particularly funny elements) were also rated highly. Jokes presented with gesture were understood more than jokes told without supports. These differences in comprehension, arising from supported/unsupported jokes, were statistically significant within the group studied. The context of humour (e.g. being part of a video cartoon) is important in determining what children with ID find funny. The significant difference in comprehension brought about by a change in mode of presentation (i.e. supported/unsupported joke telling) suggests that humour comprehension can be facilitated.

Attention to Form and Meaning Revisited

The present study revisited the issue of simultaneous attention to form and meaning from a methodological perspective that addressed several potential methodological issues of previous research in this strand of inquiry. Seventy‐two second‐semester‐level participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups, including a control, and requested to read a Spanish text and also circle one of four targeted forms (10 occurrences each) in the input. To measure comprehension, a 10‐item multiple‐choice test was administered immediately after the reading. Both qualitative (think‐aloud protocols) and quantitative analyses were conducted to address the following research question: Does type of attentional condition have a differential effect on adult second language reading comprehension? The quantitative analysis revealed no significant difference in comprehension among all five groups. To explicate the findings, the quantitative and qualitative data and analyses are discussed with regard to the issues of modality, depth or level of processing, and research methodology.

Consent Forms, Lower Reading Levels, and Using Flesch-Kincaid Readability Software

The US Food and Drug Administration requires the use of a consent form as part of the protection of human subjects in clinical trials. To help increase the probability of consent form comprehension, the biopharmaceutical industry, FDA, National Cancer Institute, and National Institutes of Health often advise developing consent forms between a sixth and eighth grade reading level. Prior studies have examined consent comprehension at different reading levels. However, prior study results are often inconsistent, do not all utilize consents conforming to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and do not all report the validity or reliability of the comprehension measurement tool used or the studies’ sample populations that are homogeneous and possess limiting characteristics. Thus the question remains whether lowering the reading level of a CFR-conforming consent form increases comprehension in a population devoid of predefined characteristics. Also unanswered is whether other variables, together or separately, such as age, gender, income level, and prior exposure to consent forms affect comprehension of consent forms written at different reading levels. To establish baseline research regarding the comprehension-reading level relationship, a study was performed utilizing a heterogeneous population of individuals waiting for jury service. The effects on comprehension by age, income, gender, prior exposure to consent forms, and 6th versus 10th grade reading level consents were examined. The consent forms’ reading levels were determined using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale in Microsoft Word. Comprehension was measured using a validated 15-question multiple-choice questionnaire that subjects completed after reading the consent forms. Statistical analysis of the effects by age and consent level on comprehension resulted in a significant main effect on comprehension by age, but no effect by consent level. A comparison indicated that only the 30–44 and 60–75 age groups demonstrated significant differences in comprehension. An analysis of the effects on comprehension by gender, income, and consenting to research in the past resulted in no significant main or interaction effects. Additional analysis confirmed that only age significantly affected comprehension. The research concluded that gender, income, prior exposure to consent forms, and lowering consent reading level had no effect on comprehension, and comprehension was only affected by age after the age of 60. This study also confirmed that when used as a preliminary tool, scanning a consent form using the Flesch-Kincaid Index in Microsoft Word can prove effective for developing consent forms.

Towards an improved readability on mobile devices: evaluating adaptive rapid serial visual presentation

Can readability on small screens be improved by using adaptive Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) that adapts the presentation speed to the characteristics of the text instead of keeping it fixed? In this paper we introduce Adaptive RSVP, describe the design of a prototype on a mobile device, and report findings from a usability evaluation where the ability to read long and short texts was assessed. In a latin-square balanced repeated-measurement experiment, employing 16 subjects, two variants of Adaptive RSVP were benchmarked against Fixed RSVP and traditional text presentation. For short texts, all RSVP formats increased reading speed by 33% with no significant differences in comprehension or task load. For long texts, no differences were found in reading speed or comprehension, but all RSVP formats increased task load significantly. Nevertheless, Adaptive RSVP decreased task load ratings for most factors compared to Fixed RSVP. Causes, implications, and effects of these findings are discussed.

A comparison of the reading abilities of teacher candidates

The academic ability of teacher candidates has been a subject of research for decades. Reading ability is an indicator of overall academic ability and can be measured throughout a students college career. This study reports the analysis of scores on a standardized test of reading ability for 868 teacher candidates in three different 4‐year universities. Findings indicate significant differences when reading vocabulary scores were compared for gender. No significant differences in comprehension, vocabulary, or reading rate were found for university classification, choice of education major, and whether the student attended a private or public university.

Reading from a Palm Pilot& Trade Using Rsvp

This study examines the feasibility of using the text presentation method known as Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) as a means of optimizing reading on small screen interfaces. Participants read text on a hand-held device in both the page-like format and at various presentation rates in RSVP. Reading comprehension, user satisfaction, and format preference were examined as dependent variables. Results showed: (1) there were significant differences in comprehension between the RSVP presented at 250 wpm and the higher speeds of 450 and 650 wpm; but (2) there was no significant difference in comprehension scores between the RSVP at 250 wpm and the page condition. Participants were able to comprehend text presented via RSVP at 250 wpm and the page format equally well. Despite this comparable performance between these formats, participants were generally less satisfied with the RSVP, and preferred 250 and 450 wpm presentation rates significantly more than 650 wpm.

Concept Mapping Effects on Science Content Comprehension of Low-Achieving Inner-City Seventh Graders

Low-achieving seventh-grade students from an urban parochial school were randomly assigned to two equally sized groups (n = 62, each group). One group was taught by a read-and-discuss, teacher-directed method, and the second group, given the same type of introductory lesson as the first, followed a model of concept mapping that connected major and minor concept ideas. A criterion-referenced test based on the content of a science chapter served as the dependent variable. Prior to any teaching, a pretest was administered. An analysis of covariance with pretest scores as the covariate showed a statistically significant difference in comprehension between the pretest and posttest for the experimental group. Effect size estimates revealed that concept mapping can be expected to improve comprehension scores of low-achieving seventh graders by approximately six standard deviations over a traditional instructional technique. When students lack background information on a topic to aid comprehension, the active participation in constructing semantic or concept maps may help students form a cognitive schema to assimilate and relate the new topic information.

The effects of literacy instruction on primary students' reading and writing achievement

This study examined the reading and writing achievement of students in primary classrooms in which teachers implemented recommended literacy instruction to varying degrees and described teachers’ practices within these varying classrooms. The reading and writing achievement of 21 students from four classrooms in which teachers adhered to recommended literacy practices to high degrees was compared with the achievement of 19 students from four classrooms in which teachers implemented recommended practices to low degrees. Findings revealed that the group of students taught by teachers who adhered to recommended practices to high degrees outperformed the group of students taught by teachers who adhered to these practices to low degrees on every measure of literacy achievement, with significant differences in comprehension, fluency, quality of writing, and use of language mechanics. The teachers of the higher achieving students implemented practices such as using high‐quality children's literature, engaging students in extensive reading and writing, and teaching skills in the context of meaningful reading and writing experiences. The teachers of the lower achieving students were less likely to employ these practices and were more apt to provide isolated skill instruction.

Comprehensibility of Pharmaceutical Pictorials among People with Mental Retardation

The present study assessed the comprehensibility of pharmaceutical pictorials that are often seen on prescription medication bottles. A total of 30 individuals with mental retardation living in semi-independent environments were asked to provide responses concerning the pictorial connotation. Results indicated that only three of the 42 pictorials presented were within the acceptable range of the ISO 67% comprehension criterion. These pictorials connoted “take with water”, “do not drink alcohol”, and “poison”. None achieved the ANSI 85% comprehension criterion. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences in comprehension between those who were taking the medication with bottles that displayed the corresponding pictorial and those who did not. The forensic implications and relevance concerning hazard communication are discussed.

OO and EER Conceptual Schemas

A database conceptual schema serves as a communication medium between professional analysts/designers and users who wish to comprehend and validate the conceptual schema. The conceptual schema is usually presented in a diagrammatic form that follows a specific semantic data model. The extended entity-relationship (EER) model is one of the most commonly used models, but being “threatened†by the objectoriented (OO) approach, which penetrates into the areas of systems analysis and design, as well as data modeling. The issue of which of the two data models is better for modeling reality and is easier to comprehend is still an open question. Our response to this question was to conduct a controlled experiment in which two groups of users, each trained to use one of the models, were tested for the comprehension of equivalent schema diagrams. Comprehension was measured by the number of correct answers to questions that addressed different constructs of the models. The results of the experiment reveal that there is no significant difference in comprehension of facts dealing with attributes of entities or objects, binary-relationships and two relationships, but those dealing with ternary-relationships are significantly easier to comprehend with the EER model. Comprehension of other, unclassified facts, however, is easier with the OO model. We propose a special symbol for objects representing ternary and higher order relationships in order to overcome the weakness of OO diagrams.

TEST‐BASED ANALOGIES

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of an author supplied analogy on students’ comprehension of a high school biology text passage describing enzymes. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental passage condition comparing an enzyme to a key that fits only one lock. Students in a control condition read the passage without the lock and key analogy. On a short essay measure, there was no significant difference in comprehension between the two groups. A passage difficulty measure showed that students did not perceive the passage without the analogy to be significantly more difficult than the version containing the lock and key analogy. These results are discussed in terms of the teacher's role in guiding students’ awareness of analogical reasoning. Textbooks that supply analogies to familiar concepts to explain more arcane concepts should be easier for students to comprehend. Indeed, one of the items typically found on checklists and scales to judge a text as “friendly” or “un...